3x3 Softbox for 1x1 Led

vladwolodarsky

vladwolodarsky

Active member
I own a Rifa88 and I am thinking about replacing it with a 6x Astra LED.

One thing I love about the Rifa is that is a big source. The softbox is 32x32 inches. Do you know of any big softboxes that can mount onto 1x1 leds? I think the 6x Astra will have enough power for a softbox that's bigger than 12x12. Thanks!
 
vladwolodarsky said:
I own a Rifa88 and I am thinking about replacing it with a 6x Astra LED.

One thing I love about the Rifa is that is a big source. The softbox is 32x32 inches. Do you know of any big softboxes that can mount onto 1x1 leds? I think the 6x Astra will have enough power for a softbox that's bigger than 12x12. Thanks!
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Your problem won't be finding a larger softbox to mount on an LED panel. Your problem will be that most 1x1 light panels don't have enough output to fill a larger softbox. I use a Lightstorm LS 1S with my medium Chimera (36x48) and it really doesn't put out enough light to use with the medium Chimera. Maybe if you have something REALLY powerful like an Astra but for the average softbox, the LED 1x1s just don't output enough output?
 
I hear that. I am thinking about getting the astra 6x, which would have 2.5 more stops more output than the astra I have right now. The 6x astra should be bright enough for 3x3 softbox, right?

I searched for 20 minutes earlier today and couldn't find a big softbox that would fit a 1x1 LED.
 
puredrifting said:
Your problem won't be finding a larger softbox to mount on an LED panel. Your problem will be that most 1x1 light panels don't have enough output to fill a larger softbox. I use a Lightstorm LS 1S with my medium Chimera (36x48) and it really doesn't put out enough light to use with the medium Chimera. Maybe if you have something REALLY powerful like an Astra but for the average softbox, the LED 1x1s just don't output enough output?
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PureD ( and also Vlad )- Is doubling-up a solution? If a 1x1 LED ( or an LS 1S ) isn't enough output, how about mounting 2 of them in a soft box? Maybe that just isn't feasible due to the physical space required inside a typical soft box. I seem to recall a forum member saying they used a 1x2 Westcott Flex inside a soft box. Maybe the bendy nature of the Flex made it possible to do where it isn't possible with something like the LitePanels or the LS 1S. How, PureD, are you mounting the Chimera to the LS 1S? Are you building the Chimera on a speed ring and then just hanging the Chimera over an LS 1S on a stand? Or, are you actually mounting the LS 1S on a speed ring designed for another light unit?

I have the same dilemma as Vlad. I love my size medium Chimera & fabric grid. I'd like to replace the tungsten hot-light I use inside the Chimera with a bi-color LED. But I have yet to come across an LED substitute that is satisfactory. I've considered switching to a LiteMat 4 with an accessory fabric grid, but that ensemble is pricey. A LiteMat 4 is $2300, $2700 with a "SnapGrid". And it doesn't travel as well as a Chimera because the LiteMat is a fixed-size panel. With the LiteMat 4 you'll always be carting around a 40" x 21" object. For the expense and bulk, you still end up with a soft source smaller than the 48" x 36" medium Chimera.

It is too bad that LitePanels doesn't design female receivers on the corners of their panels so that a pole-style soft box can be attached. To my knowledge, no one makes any sort of adapter for that purpose. And the only soft boxes specifically designed for a 1x1 Litepanel are relatively small in size. ( they attach with velcro straps, not via the tent-pole system used on the "speed rings". )

For now, I am sticking with using a Lowell Tota light inside my Chimera. Yes, they are old-school and are not bi-color and have a safety concern being such hot little lights. But they can be had for only around $40 on eBay, the bulbs for them are available at any big-box hardware store, and the quality of the light is great for reproducing human skin tones.
 
vladwolodarsky said:
I own a Rifa88 and I am thinking about replacing it with a 6x Astra LED.

One thing I love about the Rifa is that is a big source. The softbox is 32x32 inches. Do you know of any big softboxes that can mount onto 1x1 leds? I think the 6x Astra will have enough power for a softbox that's bigger than 12x12. Thanks!
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If you want to go that route either think about a larger LED mat or if you want to use LED tech think about either a Fresnel style head or, if they exist a PAR style head. Once you get into that price territory with multiple 1x1s then something like a HIVE Plasma becomes an option.

You can also simply buy 4x4s at Norm's and a few rolls of good diffusion at a fraction of the cost.

For LED mats have a look at LiteGear

http://www.litegear.com/product/litemat/
 
JPNola said:
PureD ( and also Vlad )- Is doubling-up a solution? If a 1x1 LED ( or an LS 1S ) isn't enough output, how about mounting 2 of them in a soft box? Maybe that just isn't feasible due to the physical space required inside a typical soft box. I seem to recall a forum member saying they used a 1x2 Westcott Flex inside a soft box. Maybe the bendy nature of the Flex made it possible to do where it isn't possible with something like the LitePanels or the LS 1S. How, PureD, are you mounting the Chimera to the LS 1S? Are you building the Chimera on a speed ring and then just hanging the Chimera over an LS 1S on a stand? Or, are you actually mounting the LS 1S on a speed ring designed for another light unit?

I have the same dilemma as Vlad. I love my size medium Chimera & fabric grid. I'd like to replace the tungsten hot-light I use inside the Chimera with a bi-color LED. But I have yet to come across an LED substitute that is satisfactory. I've considered switching to a LiteMat 4 with an accessory fabric grid, but that ensemble is pricey. A LiteMat 4 is $2300, $2700 with a "SnapGrid". And it doesn't travel as well as a Chimera because the LiteMat is a fixed-size panel. With the LiteMat 4 you'll always be carting around a 40" x 21" object. For the expense and bulk, you still end up with a soft source smaller than the 48" x 36" medium Chimera.

It is too bad that LitePanels doesn't design female receivers on the corners of their panels so that a pole-style soft box can be attached. To my knowledge, no one makes any sort of adapter for that purpose. And the only soft boxes specifically designed for a 1x1 Litepanel are relatively small in size. ( they attach with velcro straps, not via the tent-pole system used on the "speed rings". )

For now, I am sticking with using a Lowell Tota light inside my Chimera. Yes, they are old-school and are not bi-color and have a safety concern being such hot little lights. But they can be had for only around $40 on eBay, the bulbs for them are available at any big-box hardware store, and the quality of the light is great for reproducing human skin tones.
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Very astute observations JP. Two do work better than one and I have done that on occasion, on a Medium Chimera, the opening is large enough to handle two panels side by side or stacked one atop the other. And I know of no lights, short of the Mighty Mole and up in Tungsten and the Arri big stuff where the yolk tie down can hold up a medium Chimera. No 1x1 panel can that I am aware of, the medium Chimera Quartz Pro has some weight and leverage to it. I have a large speed ring for my Mighty Mole, I mount the Chimera with that to a grip head on a C-stand, the LS 1S or two are mounted to separate light stands. This would be a PITA for stuff where you have to move it all but I am usually using it on sit down interviews where we don't move it once it is positioned so no big deal as far as the inconvenince factor.
 
JPNola said:
A LiteMat 4 is $2300, $2700 with a "SnapGrid". And it doesn't travel as well as a Chimera because the LiteMat is a fixed-size panel. With the LiteMat 4 you'll always be carting around a 40" x 21" object. For the expense and bulk, you still end up with a soft source smaller than the 48" x 36" medium Chimera.
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That's a very good point! I do a lot of corporate gigs inside NYC skyscrapers and I want to avoid using the freight elevator. Transporting a 40x21 object will def be too big!
 
Bern Caughey said:
DoPchoice announced the SnapBag Big for Astra 1x1 which is twice as expensive as their standard sized softbox, but I haven't seen one in the wild. Imagine it's designed for the new, & brighter, Astra.

DoPchoice Snapbag Big for Astra 1x1 LED Lights
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...anels_900_0033_dopchoice_snapbag_big_for.html

They also have an even larger SnapBag, & accomping hardware, that accepts dual Astras.
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Thanks! I didn't spot the big astra snapbag. It's pretty much exactly what I am looking for, but it's way overpriced. Do you think a third party will start making big softboxes that would fit an Astra?
 
puredrifting said:
Many office buildings will not let you bring equipment carts, larger grip gear through the lobby, they require you to park elsewhere like a dock and use a freight elevator. Can add 30 minutes to your load in time.
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This and the building management companies ask for a ton of $ in incidental insurance.
 
puredrifting said:
Many office buildings will not let you bring equipment carts, larger grip gear through the lobby, they require you to park elsewhere like a dock and use a freight elevator. Can add 30 minutes to your load in time.
Why wouldn't people just use a 40-48" diffusion disk instead of hard sided metal frame 4x4s? https://www.amazon.com/Westcott-301...3662&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=48"+diffusion+disc
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Thanks and good to know. Must be the double-edged sword of production in LA/NY - everyone knows what a video/film production looks like!

In Los Angeles in 2010/2011 I used to help (PA/newb level grip) guys set up EPK interviews in all sorts of hotels.

On some less "official" shoots it was almost a case of getting a fully loaded magliner up to the room without anyone seeing.
 
vladwolodarsky said:
I've thought about shooting through the 5x1 but I've never tried it. Thank you!
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I've been doing exactly this lately and the stuff looks pretty good. Lousy for containing spill but with lower power LED panels, you are not blasting as much raw light out there anyway. For corporate shoots, BTS, EPK, you aren't typically doing surgical lighting anyway, more often it's just a matter of enhancing what is already there with real places versus starting with a black box and designing every speck of light from scratch.
 
puredrifting said:
I've been doing exactly this lately and the stuff looks pretty good. Lousy for containing spill but with lower power LED panels, you are not blasting as much raw light out there anyway. For corporate shoots, BTS, EPK, you aren't typically doing surgical lighting anyway, more often it's just a matter of enhancing what is already there with real places versus starting with a black box and designing every speck of light from scratch.
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Agree! If you are just trying to get a flattering soft key with fairly quick set up, you can't beat the diffusion of the 5 in 1. Cheep and easy. You can easily add a second panel for more punch, and can do double layers combined with two panels for punch with more diffusion. But yeah, controlling spill is definitely not a scalpel approach.

When it comes to interviews, I tend to think that the real value of softboxes comes into play when you have a three camera two person interview.

One subject...go for the easy route!
 
Bit off topic...pretty picky about my reflectors, & not a fan of 5-in-1 versions, so only buy 2-sided. The issue is the slippers never fit as tight as the fabric on simple 2-sided pop-ups.

And not much of a fan of pop-up reflectors, though I own some of the square versions for travel, & prefer beadboard, or when those are impractical, California Sunbounces.
 
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I shoot through my 5-in-1 all of the time. And yeah, sucks for spill but like mentioned, most of the time it's the perfect tool. I just bring some black foam core and flag things off as needed.

but $500 for that 3'x3' velcro strapped softbox for that 1ft led panel? WTF!!! lol. absolutely insane. I have been wanting something like that for so long but I'll be dead before i spend as much money on the softbox as the fixture itself... Shame on them.
 
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